THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 7 June 2008 — The Kerala state government will build infrastructure facilities to cater to the needs of tourists and consolidate its achievements, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said.
Speaking after laying the foundation of Rs.8.05 billion International Convention Center Complex (ICCC) last week, he said information technology and tourism were the two sectors the state government would focus on in the coming years.
The ICCC is expected to spur Kerala’s Rs.120 billion tourism industry, which recorded 32.82 percent growth in foreign exchange revenues last year. The project is part of the state’s initiative to tap its MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) potential.
“The state needs good hotels, convention centers and roads,” the chief minister said. “The Kollam-Nileswaram national waterway will be completed within three years and the new international airport in Kannur will result in the overall development of the northern districts.”
The ICCC is to be built across the Akkulam lake in the picturesque tourist village on the outskirts of the city with private partnership.
“This is also going to be India’s first IT-tourism corridor as it is strategically placed between the existing Technopark (the state’s IT hub) and the upcoming 200,000-seat Technocity,” Kerala Law Minister M. Vijayakumar said.
To be completed by January 2011, the first phase of the project includes a 4000-seat convention center, a five-star hotel with 249 rooms, 25 poolside luxury cottages, gymnasium, spa, marina and water sports facilities.
The Phase II includes service apartments and retail space besides the capacity addition. The Chalet Hotels and Properties (Kerala) Private Limited, the 26:74 joint venture formed for the purpose between the state government and K. Raheja Corp, expects its MICE tourism clientele to be mostly IT-driven.
Concentrating on class tourism instead of mass tourism, the industry has emerged a key component of the state’s economy over the years. MICE and medical tourism are the two areas that the tourism authorities identified to maintain the robust growth of the industry.
Last year, 515,808 holidaymakers visited the state registering an increase of 20.37 percent over the previous year and the state government hopes to retain that level of growth in the coming years as well.
“The ICCC is the biggest investment coming in the tourism sector so far. The equity base of the joint venture would be Rs.680 million, of which the state government’s share would be Rs.176.6 million, calculated as the cost of the 46 acres of land to be transferred to the JV,” Tourism Secretary Dr. Venu V. said. “The rest of the funds would be raised through loans. The project would be run under the built, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis and the lease period is 90 years.”
Ramnidhi Wasan, chief operating officer of Chalet Hotels, said MICE tourism is now the fastest growing tourism segment that provides tremendous potential for growth. “A state-of-the-art center like this will certainly spur huge activity and since it is being set up in and around the backwater, it’s going to be special,” he said.
According to him, the MICE tourism forms a central part of the economy of countries like Singapore and Malaysia and its potential has not been tapped in India. “The state capital is now going to be the global epicenter of business meets once the soft opening of the ICCC takes place in January 2011,” he said.